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Nucleic acid probes as potential tools in oral microbial epidemiology
Author(s) -
Albandar Jasim M.,
Olsen Ingar
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1990.tb00025.x
Subject(s) - nucleic acid , medicine , oligonucleotide , computational biology , hybridization probe , nucleic acid thermodynamics , dna , biology , genetics , base sequence
The present review deals with genetic tools in the microbial diagnostic laboratory, types of nucleic acid probes, their construction and cloning, hybridization reactions, their sensitivity and specificity, and their advantages and limitations. The nucleic acid probes seem to possess a number of advantages over traditional diagnostic methods. DNA, RNA, and oligonucleotide probes are expected to have increased impact on our understanding of the pathogenesis and the treatment of infectious inflammatory periodontal diseases. In addition, these probes have potential application in epidemiological studies of oral microorganisms. However, the limitations of the probes must be kept in mind, and newly developed probes must be controlled with respect to the critical issues of sensitivity and specificity.